Theodosius the Great, Power and Faith.

The sixteen years of the reign of Theodosius I (379-395) were not easy. This son of a disgraced general from Spain came to power in tragic circumstances, after a battle against the Goths in which the emperor and two-thirds of his army perished. Forced to face both external and internal perils—integrating these barbarians into the empire, fighting two usurpers in the West, Maximus and Eugene—he was able to impose his power in Constantinople and the East, and to calm the religious tensions that troubled his empire.
His actions have been judged in very different ways: while many historians grant him the title of Great, others are quick to accuse him of weakness or fanaticism. Based on the most reliable documents and the most recent research, this book aims to present the character and his record in a measured manner. It is part of a perspective of re-evaluation of the reign, in legislative, political and religious matters: his actions towards pagans and barbarians, the laws that tended to establish Christianity as the state religion and the application of repressive laws, but also his entourage and his fight against Eugene. So many questions are examined in this synthesis which covers the career of Theodosius and contemporary emperors (Gratian, Valentinian II, Maximus, Eugene).